Araucaria cunninghamii

Araucaria cunninghamii
File:Araucaria cunninghamii.jpg
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Araucariaceae
Genus:	Araucaria
Species:	A. cunninghamii
Binomial name
Araucaria cunninghamii Aiton ex D.Don
Synonyms
Araucaria beccarii Warb. Araucaria glauca Antoine Eutacta cunninghamii (Aiton ex D.Don) Link Eutassa cunninghamii (Aiton ex D. Don) Spach Eutassa cunninghamii (Aiton ex D.Don) G.Don

Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine and Queensland pine. The scientific name honours the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens in the 1820s.

The species is found in the dry rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland and in New Guinea. The trees can live up to 450 years and grow to a height of 60 metres. The bark is rough, splits naturally, and peels easily.

The leaves on young trees are awl-shaped, 1–2 cm long, about 2 mm thick at the base, and scale-like, incurved, 1–2 cm long and 4 mm broad on mature trees. The cones are ovoid, 8–10 cm long and 6–8 cm diameter, and take about 18 months to mature. They disintegrate at maturity to release the nut-like edible seeds.

There are two varieties:

• Araucaria cunninghamii var. cunninghamii - Australia, from northeast New South Wales to east-central Queensland, at 0-1,000 m altitude.
• Araucaria cunninghamii var. papuana - New Guinea, on the mountains of Papua New Guinea, and in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, at 100-2,700 m altitude.

File:Araucaria cunninghamii bark.JPG

The banded bark of Araucaria cunninghamii

Cultivation and uses

The wood is a high quality timber that is particularly important to the plywood industry and also used for furniture, veneer, joinery, panelling, particle board, flooring and boats. Most natural stands in Australia and Papua New Guinea have been depleted by logging. It is now mainly found on timber plantations; however, the species continues to thrive in protected areas, including Lamington National Park where at least one walking track is named after it.

Australian Aboriginal use

Australian Aborigines used the resin as cement.

External links

• Australian National Botanic Garden: Araucaria cunninghamii
• Gymnosperm Database: Araucaria cunninghamii
• Brisbane Rainforest Action & Information Network: Araucaria cunninghamii
• Tree Conservation Information Service